September 04, 2011

The Waltons are Taking Over Malibu

Sunday September 4, 2011

Malibu, California

Perfect Beach Weather

Malibu is being taken over by the Waltons. No, not the Walton's from the TV Show with John-boy, but Sam Walton's family. You know, the guy that started Walmart. It started with the Malibu Colony Plaza, where Stan Kroenke of the Kroenke group and husband of Ann Walton who is the neice of Sam Walton. All of a sudden you see signs for the Kroenke Group and popular restaurants and stores lost their leases (eg, Granita's).

The latest bruhaha is with Trancas Country Market, home to How's Market and Trancas Garden Nursery. It all started with news that the much loved Trancas Garden Nursery is getting evicted. Fortunately, when the news broke the neighborhood got together and protested the eviction of the nursery. Local newspapers started reporting the tragedy and started asking questions like "Who are the new owners?" Well the answer to that question required some investigative journalism and the real owners were revealed - Paige and Bo Dubbert. Paige Dubbert is the neice of Ann Walton and has quite a background. You can read about it here. At least she gave back her USC degree after caught cheating her way through college.

Anyhow, the Trancas Garden Nursery has been saved for now, but How's Market is gone. No one knows what will replace it. And what will happen to the secret garden? Right behind How's was a secret garden which is covered in beautiful wild flowers. Very few people know about it and it is anybody's guess on whether it will survive. I for one will miss it terribly it it disappears.